Straightening device



y 1952 H. H. SCHAEFER STRAIGHTENING DEVICE Filed Nov. 4, 1949 J a m H 9 r m, H

yygtz Attorney Patented July 8, 1952 UNITED STATES Parent crews 1 Claim.

Thisi'n'ventibn' relates to a novel straightening devieeor extrememsimpie construction. adapted to be used for Straightening. hinged closures iii-'- cluding; doors; screen doorsywindow'frames and cabinet doors.

Doors and hinged closures of various types frequentlywarp along the hinged stile between the hinges or beyond the hinges, so that portions of the hinged stile'arebowedoutwardly and in a direction away :from-the'hinges; When this occurs it is difiicult if not impossible to closethe 1 door and where the door may be closedthe edge of the hinged stile scrapes the'face of the hinge jamb of*=-the closure frame'and/or binds with amolding} str ip fastened to the face of the-hinge jamb of-the 'framee Accordiiigly,- it is-a primarypbiect of the resent inventibn toprovide aclosure straightener I of ex'tremely simple construction which may be temporarily secured to the hinge jamb of the closure frame so as to project from the face thereof and be positioned to engage the corner of one face and the edge of the hinged stile of the door and which is located remote to the door hinges for displacing said stile portion toward the door hinges by a camming action as the door approaches a fully closed position to thereby straighten the warp in the door.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a door straightener of extremely simple construction which may be readily applied to or re: moved from the hinge jamb of a door frame and which may be left in place until the warped condition of a door has been eliminated and thereafter removed. 7

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary side elevational View looking toward the inner face of a portion of the hinge jamb of a door frame, showing the straightening device applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 2--2 of Figure 1 and showing a portion of the hinged stile of a door in an ajar position, and

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 33 of Figure 1 and showing the door straightener in side elevation.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the door straightener, comprising the invention, is designated generally 5 and comprises a metal bar,

designated generally Iii-which is bent intermediateofits longitudinal edges and from end-to-end thereofsubstantiallysalong a line as indicated by the reference numeral/:1 to form the surfaces 8' andsll which are disposed at an obtuseangle to one another greater than: The longitudinal 1 edge: I (lot the bar 6, which constitutes the outer. edge of the por-tionprovidihg, the surface 8,,is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spacedintegral projections which project laterally from said edge; l0 and which formprongs ll. The prongs l. are-substantiallyv -shaped having outwardlyconverging side edges. and the opposite sides-of-.-the.prongs II are also tapered adjacent the free ends of the prongs toform the sharpened points [2, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3.

A portion of the hinge jambs'of a closure frame is illustratedin-the drawing-and designated gen erally shaving an inner face 14 which is shown provided with the usual molding strip I5.- m Figure 2a portion of the hinged stile of a dooror other closure is illustrated and designated generally I6 and one hinge I1 is shown by which the stile I6 is connected to the jamb l3. However, it will be obvious that at least one additional hinge, not shown, will be provided. Figure 2 is a sectional view taken at a point remote to the hinges of the closure of which the stile l6 forms a part and the stile portion I6 along the section line 2-2 is shown warped and bowed in a direction away from the hinge I! 50 that the door or closure could not be closed at the corner l8 of the stile, remote to the hinge I! will strike the strip IE or the opposite, inner corner will strike the inner face of the jamb B to prevent proper closing of the door. This bowed or warped condition of the corner edge I8 is illustrated in broken lines in Figure 1 and somewhat exaggerated. In order to eliminate this warped condition of the stile l6 between the closure hinges, the prongs ll of the straightening device 5 are driven into the inner face M of the jamb 13 by striking the opposite outer edge of the strip 6 with a hammer or other impact tool and so as to position the other, inner edge I 0 of the strip 6 against the face l4 and longitudinally thereof. If the face [4 is provided with a strip I5, as illustrated in the drawing, the side of the strip 6, opposite the surface 8 will be disposed against the edge thereof which normally engages the closure stile l6 and so that the cam surface 9 will extend in a direction away from the stile l6 and from its hinge I1. With the straightening device 6 thus applied, as the closure is swung toward a closed position the corner edge l8 of its hinge stile IE will contact the cam surface 9 and as the stile l continues to move toward the jamb face M from its position of Figure 2, the portion of the stile 16, adjacent its corner portion l8 which contacts the surface 9, will be sprung inwardly and away from the straightener 5 so that the door stile [6 will be straightened as the closure reaches a fully closed position'and with the stile edge 19 abutting the jamb face [4 and with a portion of the outer surface 20 of the stile 16 being disposed against the straightener surface 8, which is located at a right angle to the jamb face I4. The door straightener 5 may be left in position for a period of time and while the closure is in use until the warp in the stile I6 has been corrected, after which the straightening device 5 may be removed.

Obviously, the straightener device 5 may be made of any desired length and may be provided with any desired and necessary number of prongs l l and may be formed of any suitable metal which is sufficiently rigid to withstand the pressure required to effect the straightening of the door stile. It will also be readily apparent that the door straightener 5 may be located beyond either end hinge of a closure to function in the same manner and for the same purpose and may be utilized with door jambs not provided with a molding strip [5. Likewise, if necessary, the straightener 5 may be secured to the strip l5 adjacent the edge thereof which is normally engaged by the closure stile and so that the surface 8 will be disposed in the same plane as said edge of the strip 15. The straightener 5 is likewise capable of being I claim as my invention:

The combination with a closure, a closure jamb and hinges connecting the closure to the closure j amb, of an elongated thick rigid bar having side edge portions disposed at an obtuse angle to one another greater than a plurality of anchoring elements projecting transversely from one longitudinal edge of said bar and disposed in the same plane as the adjacent side edge portion of the bar, said anchoring elements being anchored in the inner face of the jamb for positioning the side edge portion of the bar, located adjacent said elements, at substantially a right angle to the jamb face, said other side edge portion of the bar having an outer surface disposed at an obtuse angle greater than 150 to the outer surface of the first mentioned side edge portion of the bar and forming a cam surface to be engaged by an edge of the closure as said edge approaches th jamb for displacing said edge of the closure laterally of the jamb, said bar being disposed longitudinally of the lamb and closure and in lon-v gitudinally spaced relationship to each of the hinges to cooperate with the hinges, jamb and closure for straightening the closure portion lo-' cated between the hinges.

HARRY H. SCHAEFER;

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this :patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name I Date 410,038 Somborn Aug. 27, 18 89, 1,164,866 Rasmussen Dec. 21,1915 1,730,782 Reens Oct. 8, 1929 2,277,258 Santrey Mar. 24,1942 2,513,059 Singer June 2'7, 1950- 

